Leveling The Playing Field: E-Marketing’S Impact On Lodging Operations

Since 1998 there has been a 54% increase in the number of travelers using the Internet to obtain information on destination or make travel arrangements. Travel has become the Web’s top e-tail segment with online hotel bookings hitting $164 million in revenues (AAHOA Hospitality, May, 2000). With Internet traffic doubling every 100 days a “flash point” in technology has been reached. When technology becomes commonplace and seen as an integral part of the marketplace a flash point occurs (Chandler, 2000). Electronic commerce has revolutionized the way services are delivered and changed the traditional relationship between consumers and service providers (Zeithaml & Bitner, 2000). The purpose of this research is to analyze and compare the impact marketing technology application has on lodging properties in the pursuit of individual travelers. This exploratory study identified issues that respondents felt were important and affected their marketing and management activities. © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved